unevenearth.org
by André Gorz
The worst thing about cars is that they are like castles or villas by the sea: luxury goods invented for the exclusive pleasure of a very rich minority, and which in conception and nature were never intended for the people. Unlike the vacuum cleaner, the radio, or the bicycle, which retain their use value when everyone has one, the car, like a villa by the sea, is only desirable and useful insofar as the masses don’t have one. That is how in both conception and original purpose the car is a luxury good. And the essence of luxury is that it cannot be democratized. If everyone can have luxury, no one gets any advantages  from it. On the contrary, everyone diddles, cheats, and frustrates everyone else, and is diddled, cheated, and frustrated in return.

Daniel Moser @_dmoser
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to  cycle and he will realise fishing is stupid and boring” ~ Desmond Tutu

Alex Dyer Aug 24, 2019
Most people are probably aware that cars are bad for us and the environment. Given how much we have come to use them, perhaps most aren’t aware just how very bad they are.
It is not uncommon to see well-meaning environmental initiatives proclaim their effectiveness by comparing their performance to the ‘number of cars taken off the road’. Like this is some kind of official unit of measurement.
Every time this is used it does my head in: Why do they not just take cars off the road instead? They will only be trying to compare one or two aspects, usually air pollution or emissions. But it is car blind to ignore the many other benefits of reducing car use.

news.leicester.gov.uk
Published on Thursday, December 16, 2021
PEOPLE are being asked to give their views in a public consultation over a proposed Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) which could help fund a radical overhaul and long-term modernisation of the city’s public transport, cycling and walking networks.
Over the summer Leicester City Council carried out initial consultations into a possible scheme, and now more detailed plans for the WPL have been published.
An extensive 12-week public consultation has now been launched, giving people and employers the chance to find out more details about the proposed WPL and how it would work, and to comment on the scheme. It runs from December 16, 2021 until March 13, 2022.

Jon Stone @joncstone
NEW: The nice way to cycle from Hampstead Heath to Waterloo

Davey @jdavey_2 May 20
The 1800 lb battery for a single F-150 Lightning could be split to power 300 e-bikes. For which the charging infrastructure already exists.

Brent Toderian @BrentToderian
“The car wastes more time than it saves and creates more distance than it overcomes.” — 1973 essay by André Gorz, “The social ideology of the motorcar.” Still completely accurate and relevant. And the costs are massive. http://unevenearth.org/2018/08/the-social-ideology-of-the-motorcar/
http://unevenearth.org/2018/08/the-so

Mark Moran 22 December 2021
Transport for London intends to make its trial of 24-hour bus lanes permanent after a trial found that extending bus lane hours on London’s busiest roads cut journey times and helped reliability.
Improvements in bus journey times were particularly noticeable in central and inner London, especially in both the mornings and evenings and throughout Sundays. 24-hour bus lanes are also expected to improve service reliability in the longer term.

Leon Simons @SunnySimons Replying to @MrMatthewTodd
Note that the clip from James Hansen is from a while back. The Earth’s Energy Imbalance is now twice as high, about 1.2 Watts/m². That makes it equivalent to the energy of 800,000 Hiroshima bombs added to the Earth system every day, 365 days a year.

December 27, 2021
In 2019, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett and their two children moved from Vancouver to the small city of Delft in the Netherlands. The experience of transitioning to and living in a place that puts people first over automobiles forms the basis for Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives. The book, the Bruntlett’s second on the lessons offered by Dutch cities, explains the many benefits of car-free and car-lite spaces, from lower anxiety and stress, better social trust, improved health and increased independence for people of all ages and abilities. Plus, as you’ll hear, cities with fewer cars are quiet!